Wheel disk



Patented May 22, 1928.

v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EnEnEEIox WILLIAM BAKER, or onnswmrofnn, s'roonBRinGE, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOB 'IO TRINITY WHEEL CORPORATION, OF NEW YO K-1v. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

' WHEEL DISK.

Application filed Iuly '13, 1926, Serial No. 122,133, and in Great Britain June 8, 1926.

My invention relates to improvements in wheel disks such as are used making vehicle wheels in which the disk serves as the connecting medium between the tire bearing rim and the wheel hub. Such disks are made more or less resilient, and heretofore in attaining the desired resilience, it has been done by reducing the thickness of the disk at certain points, or by arcing the disk more or less, or otherwise, but such resilience has been uniformly distributed about the circumference of the wheel so as to make the disk equally resilient at all points. My invention is intended to produce a simple, strong, and efficient disk for this purpose which has the resilience localized preferably symmetrically and at spaced intervals, to the end that at these points the disk will be more resilient than at other places. This is done with the view of having the tire bearing rim attached 1n such a way that its supports will come opposlte the more resilient or radially weakened parts of the disk, and as the tire bearing rim yields more between its supports than elsewhere, the resilience of the wheel as a whole is equalized and distributed so as to get the required resilience without appreciable deformation.

The localizing of disk may be secured by a reduction in thickness of the disk at these points, by slotting the disk, or otherwise, the preferred method being by slotting as this is a simple means of attaining the desired result, and has the further advantage of ventilating thewheel in such a manneras to keep it cool. The slotting can be best effected by punching the disk at the necessary points, or at least making the slots in such away that the edge port ons will be turned in from the front face of the wheehas this prevents any tearing or cutting edges, and furthermore the inturned the resilience of the,

the disk at these points parts act to a certain extent like fan blades so that when the wheel is turned they create a forced circulation of air. Reference is to be had to the accompanylng drawings forming apart of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views. j Figure 1 is a cross section ofthe disk embodying my invention taken on the line -1--1 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows. I i

Figure 2 is an elevation ofthe disk looking toward the inner face thereof. Figure 3 is a brokendiagrammatic detail showing the relation of thedisk and the bearing member to the main Wheel rim, and Figured is a detail showing another form of bearing member.

The disk is shaped with a 'centralhub portion 10 which is shown flat and oflset axially from the main part ofthe wheel, having a central hole 11 for the axle, and the customary holes 12 to facilitate its attachment to the hub on the axle as usual. T he middle portion 10 of the disk can, however, be given any preferred shape or configuration to facilitate its attachment to a hub. Thesurface 10 is inturned around its outer edge as shown at 13, this part merging into the outvvardly flaring body portion 14 which is provided with essentially circular or annular corrugations 15 located preferably near the outer or inturned rim portion 16. Obviously the corrugation 15 canbe disposed at any desiredflpoint in the body 14L of the disk, but it is preferably near its outer perimeter and to get the best results the corrugation should be substantially concentric with respect to the rim portion 16. The edge of the rim portion 16 is preferably flared outward as at 17, as thishas a tendency to stiffen the disk at this point.

At different parts of the rim portion 16 and spaced preferably at regular intervals,

are bearing members 18 which form supports for the main wheel rim indicated at 18" in Figure 3. This bearing member can be conveniently pressed up from the metal of the disk, but the invention is by no means confined to this or any particular means of forming the bearing members or 01 carrying said members. For example, in Figure l l have shown the rim portion 16 having hearing members 18 in the form of blocks which are secured to the rim, and I wish it distinctly understood that these bearing members can be arranged in any way between the rim portion 16 of the disk and the main telly or rim 18 of the wheel, without departing from the invention. 1

One object of supporting the main telley or tire bearing rim 18 on this hearing members is to produce a certain resilience in the telly, and in order that the resilience may be equal at all parts of the rim and opposite the bearing members 18 as well as between the members, the disk is weakened at points substantially opposite radially to the bearing members 18. This local weakening of the disk can be accomplished in many ways, as by thinning the disk, or in any usual or preferred manner, to produce the increased resilience, but I prefer to slot the disk at necessary points, and the slotting can be eiiectually made as shown at 20 1n the corrugations 15. The slots are produced by forcing in the metal from the face side of the wheel as shown in Figure 1, so that the edge portions of the slots 20 will be inturncd. This prevents any raw edges on the face of the wheel which might cut or tear anything with which they come in contact, and further the inturncd parts act to a certain extent like fan blades, and when the wheel is rotated, they make a forced circulation of air through the disk and around i the wheel which has a tendency to keep the parts cool. These slots can obviously be pro duced in other parts of the disk structure to make air circulation at desired points. In Figure 1 I have shown one of the members 18 perforated as at 19 to facilitate its attachment to an outer rim 18'.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have thus produced a very simple, cheap, strong, easily made disk, which can be used to advantage in the manufactureof a disk wheel, and especially a wheel of the type referred to.

It will be further noted that while the disk can carry a tire bearing member in any usual or preferred way, it lends itself especially to the type of wheel referred to in which bearing members 18 or the like are spaced on the disk rim or flange and that as the bearing members 18 are placed opposite the locally weakened parts of the disk and the portions of the tire bearing rim between said members opposite the non-weakened portions of the disk, the tire carrying rim as a whole will be supported equally resilient at all points.

1 claim l. A wheel disk having radially weakened sectors and spaced peripheral rim bearing members disposed opposite the weakened sectors of the disk.

2. A wheel disk having radially weakened sectors and spaced rim bearing members disposed opposite the weakened sectors and projecting outward beyond the general periphery of the disk.

3. A wheel disk with a rim portion having bearing members thereon and with the disk body weakened radially opposite said bearing members to render it more resilient at said weakened parts.

4-. A wheel disk with a rim portion adapt ed to lie within the main rim of a wheel and having resilient areas and bearing members on said rim portion spacing said rim portion from the main wheel rim.

5. A wheel disk having a rim portion and a corrugation in the body substantially concentric with the rim portion said corrugation being slotted at intervals.

(5. A wheel disk having a rim portion having bearing members externally thereon, and a generally circular corrugation on the disk body, said corrugation being slotted at parts opposite the bearing members.

7. A wheel disk having a rim and spaced bearing members of substantially uniform width and length on the face of and integral with the rim to support a tire bearing rim.

8. A wheel disk havin a rim and spaced bearing members extru ed and projected from the outer face of rim for an equal distance. both transversely and circumferentially of the rim.

9. A wheel disk formed from a single sheet with a peripheral rim and bearing members outwardly projecting for a short distance from the rim and 0t substantially uniform Width and length.

10. A wheel disk having an axially ofi'set hub portion, a body portlon flaring axially outward from the hub portion, a run at the outer edge of the body portion, and spaced bearing members on the rim.

11. A wheel disk having an axially ofi'set hub portion, a body portion flaring axially outward from the hub portion and provided with a corrugation essentially concentric with the wheel rim, said corrugations being slotted at intervals, and a rim at the outer edge of the body portion.

12. A wheel disk having an axially offset hub portion, a body portion flaring axially outward from the hub portion and provided with a corrugation essentially concentric with the rim part of the disk, a rim portion I at the outer edge of the disk, and bearing body,said body havingweakened areas and 10 members on the exterior of the rim for the merging into a rim at'its periphery with purpose specified. spaced members, on the rim to form sup- 13. A Wheel disk having slots opening ports for an outer tire bearing rim. 5 through opposite sides thereof with the In testimony whereof, I have signed my edges of said slots inturned. name to this specification this 8th day of 14. A Wheel disk formed of a single piece July, 1926. having a hub portion axially inturned and merging into an axially outwardly flaring FREDERICK WILLIAM BAKER. 

